Tudor Fastrider Black Shield Ducati (ref. 42000CN)

Marketed as a sort of accessory for the new Ducati XDiavel cruiser that was presented last November at the EICMA international motorcycle show in Milan, Italy, this new Tudor Fastrider Black Shield Ducati (ref. 42000CN) looks as sporty and laconic as the Italian sports bike. While some may find its look a bit dated (while others may call it ‘classic’,) the choice of material for its chunky case easily compensates for its apparent lack of originality making it a very nice choice for a person willing to spend close to $5000 for a Swiss-made chronograph that, while looking plain, offers you the same level of quality and functionality that we expect from a timekeeper in this price range.

Overall Impression

Although it is easier for me to imagine a person driving an Italian sports bike wearing something like Seiko Astron GPS Stratosphere (Ref. SAS033) or even a Breitling Emergency II chronometer that seems even more appropriate given their daredevil driving style, this new Tudor Fastrider Black Shield Ducati (ref. 42000CN) may still be a nice choice for a guy (or even a girl for that matter) who prefers something fast, furious, and not exactly safe to a family sedan.

With the usual stainless steel replaced with a lot more appealing matte black ceramic, the device may strike a chord or two in a heart of person who wants his or her traditional watch to sport a nice high-tech touch.

By the way, it is not the first time that the recently resurrected Swiss brand partners with the Italian maker of performance bikes. Back in 2011, two companies have combined their forces to offer a small Fastrider Chronograph Ducati collection of chronographs that featured clever (albeit a tad generic) exterior design and a time-proven ETA 775x mechanism. Offered at a relatively affordable price (especially if you compare it to similar models made by Omega or Rolex themselves,) they clearly were a very interesting offer to the sort of people that is obsessed with watches as they are obsessed with motorbikes.

This new iteration of the timekeeper looks a lot more extreme with its scratch-resistant matte black ceramic body and different color accents on the dial that still features the same traditional tri-compax chronograph layout: something that Ducati fans will probably like.

They will also love the fact that, even despite featuring a ceramic case, this new timekeeper doesn’t command a prohibitively high price. Yes, its official minimum retail price of almost $5000 will probably prevent most potential customers from an impulse purchase, but it still looks reasonable enough for those who can afford parting with this sort of cash.

Perhaps, the only thing I personally can complain about is an apparent lack of a perforated leather strap available with this new collection.

Case & Strap

The black ceramic body of this new Fastrider looks deliberately massive.

With a diameter of just 42 millimeters and a set of relatively short integrated lugs, the piece will probably fit well an average wrist. However, you should take into account that it is also quite thick, which may make wearing it with a tight-cuffed shirt a bit problematic.

Its water resistance rating of 150 meters doesn’t look particularly impressive, but you can still find comfort in the fact that you can wear it in a shower and even take it for an occasional swim without a risk of destroying the gadget.

Its fixed bezel is, too, quite standard featuring and engraved tachymetric scale and so are the chronograph push-pieces that, while comfortable to operate, will clearly not win any design award. Well, the same goes to the setting crown: while easy to grasp even with thicker fingers and short enough not to cause any discomfort, it is as plain as other parts of the ref. 42000CN.

As far as straps go, there are currently as many as three different bands available for this model with the one in ‘vintage’ beige nubuck looking the most interesting.

Dial

As you can see on the photos, the Tudor Fastrider Black Shield Ducati is offered with just one color of its dial, but there are at least three color accents that you can chose from. Given the fact that this watch was issued to attract some extra attention to the new Ducati XDiavel “power-cruiser” that was unveiled in November 2015 boasting a potent 1262cc two-cylinder Testastretta power plant and lots of customization options, it would probably be wise to choose a version with red accents since those match quite nicely the same accents on the new Italian bike.

Also, with this finish, the dial doesn’t look as plain as those on other members of the new collection while retaining almost the same daytime legibility due to its high-contrast layout.

As it was the case with the 2011 version, this new model features a very small date aperture making the calendar hard to read in certain conditions. However, the open-worked hour and minute hands are still wide enough for its strips of Superluminova to be perfectly visible in darkness. The luminous hour markers are, too, large enough for easy readability, yet stay in proportion to other elements of the dial and don’t draw too much attention to themselves.

The sub-dials (there is a small seconds display at 9 o’clock, as well as a 30-minute and 12-hour chronograph totalizers at 3 and 6 hours respectively) still can’t be used as an example of perfect legibility, but, with a certain effort on your part, can still be readable, although the hands could be a little bit wider to reflect just a tad more light and stay more in line with beefier shape of the main indicators.

Mechanism

As for the caliber that keeps this thing ticking, the Swiss brand still adheres to its original strategy of offering timekeepers that are powered by less advanced mechanisms than those animating watches manufactured by their parent brand, but are still at least on par with competition when it comes to reliability and accuracy.

The “Tudor caliber 7753” self-winding movement is, as you have probably already guessed, based on the well-known ETA 7753 chronograph movement. Offering the same functionality and bullet-proof dependability, this refinished engine looks like an adequate choice for this model.

Pricing & Availability

Currently offered with a retail price of just below $5000, this ceramic watch is clearly priced to sell even despite its rather generic mechanism and not particularly striking exterior.